Agenda and minutes

We elected County Councillor M. Lane as Chair.

We appointed County Councillor S. Woodhouse as Vice-Chair.

There were no declarations of interest raised.

The Chairman invited members of the public present to put questions to the Area Committee, or to raise issues of concern:

Sprinklers and Cladding - New Schools

A representative of Abergavenny Town Council and Team Abergavenny asked whether there will be sprinklers located within new schools within the County and also whether the cladding has been checked and is safe in both new and existing schools. 

A representative of the Area Committee responded by stating that all new schools must be fitted with sprinklers.  However, with regard to the question relating to cladding, this matter would need to be addressed via the Chief Officer for Children and Young People.

It was also noted that the proposed development of the new comprehensive schools in Chepstow and Abergavenny fell within tranch B of the Welsh Government’s 21^st Century Schools Programme, which had yet to be confirmed by Welsh Government.  When the development is confirmed, Monmouthshire County Council will provide 50% match funding towards the building costs of the schools.

We resolved that the Democratic Services Officer writes to the Chief Officer for Children and Young People requesting the position regarding the cladding being used in the construction of new schools in Monmouthshire and whether it has been tested and passed a safety inspection.  Also, whether the cladding for existing schools been tested.   

The minutes of the Bryn y Cwm Area Committee dated 25^th January 2017 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

We received a presentation by PCSO Ruth Moyse of Gwent Police regarding hate crimes and hate incidents.  In doing so, the following points were noted:

·         Definition of Hate Crime:

-       Any incident, which constitutes a criminal offence, perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate.

-       Any incident, which may or may not constitute a criminal offence, which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate.

·         The five protected categories are race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender.

·         Other types of incidents are ‘mate crime, lifestyle, age and gender.

·         Actual examples of hate crimes were provided.

·         The effects of hate crime can lead to the victims experiencing thoughts of suicide, fear of being targeted again, shock, anxiety, depression, loss of confidence, difficulty in sleeping, distrust of others and isolation.

·         The most common motivating factor in hate crimes recorded by the Police was ‘race’, i.e., 73%.

·         The total number of hate crimes in 2015/16 across the whole of Wales was 2,405. 1693 of these crimes occurred in South East Wales.

·         There has been a 3% increase in recorded hate crimes across Wales.  It is estimated that 48% of hate crimes are going unreported.

·         The total number of transgender hate crimes in 2015/16 across the whole of Wales was 35. 24 of these crimes occurred in South East Wales.

·         The total number of sexual orientation hate crimes across the whole of Wales was 372. 241 of these crimes occurred in South East Wales.

·         The total number of disability hate crimes in 2015/16 across the whole of Wales was 244. 179 of these crimes occurred in South East Wales.

·         The total number of religion hate crimes in 2015/16 across the whole of Wales was 119. 80 of these crimes occurred in South East Wales.

·         The total number of race hate crimes in 2015/16 across the whole of Wales was 1747. 1245 of these crimes occurred in South East Wales.

·         Hate crimes may be reported via the Police, True Vision Cymru, Victim Support and Crime Stoppers.

Having received the presentation, the following points were noted:

·         There is legislation to deal with issues of malicious communication on line.   If there is a hate element to the crime then the courts can issue enhanced sentences.

·         Raising awareness of hate crime is key.  Speaking to vulnerable people and letting them know that reporting hate crime is essential, which includes third party reporting of hate crimes.

·         Notices outlining who to contact to report a hate crime could be erected in the One Stop Shop and on the electronic notice board within Abergavenny town.

·         It was noted that County Councillors dispatch leaflets to local residents and could therefore incorporate information regarding this matter from Gwent Police into their leaflets.

·         Gwent Police is one of the few police forces that has hate crime support officers.

·         Gwent Police will be holding a hate crime event in October 2017 with a view to taking this event  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

We received an update report by Team Abergavenny on progress made to date.  In doing so, the following points were noted:

·         The Conservative Member for Llanelly Hill had indicated that he would like to work with Team Abergavenny regarding the provision of a pedestrian / cycle bridge at Llanellen.

·         The North Monmouthshire Community Plan was in its final stages and would be published in due course. Community Councils had been consulted on the draft plan and the comments received from those councils that responded had been considered.

·         Abergavenny Town Council is obliged by Welsh Government to also produce a five year plan.

·         Both plans should sit comfortably alongside each other.

We resolved to receive the report and noted its content.

We received a report outlining the principles of the Bryn y Cwm Area Committee pilot and associated measures to determine its success.

In March 2017, the Authority was presented with seven options which had been discussed as part of a cross party member working group to consider the recommendations of the 2015 review and decide upon a structure for community governance.  The group was asked to follow the following principles when making a decision:

• Provide a forum for local councillors to engage with residents about local issues.

• Give local communities a stronger and more direct voice in decision making in their local area.

• Enable members to have influence over decisions that are specific to their local area.

• Develop and oversee the delivery of localised plans.

• Engage with representatives of town and community councils.

• Harness and channel community energy to deliver improved outcomes for the local area and its communities.

• Bring together partner agencies to focus on locally specific issues.

Following a wide ranging debate, Members had agreed that Option 2, detailed below, had been their preferred option with the addition that an invitation could be extended to include a single representative from each of the Town and Community Councils in the proposed pilot area. 

Option 2 – Area Committees are retained as the sole structure with an increase in co-opted members.

Having received the report, the following points were noted:

·         Future Area Committee meetings needed to be located at locations that were DDA compliant.

·         More community involvement was being investigated with regard to the spending of Section 106 Funding and Area Committee Grants.

·         The new Area Committee Chairs representing the other Area Committees had shown an interest in attending future Bryn y Cwm Area Committee meetings during the pilot.

·         Debate ensued regarding each of the nine Town and Community Councils and whether each representative should have voting rights during the pilot.

We resolved:

(i)     to note the findings of the Community Engagement review to date;

(ii)    to take forward the agreement to disband the Programme Board and the Community Forum, with the Area Committee to be retained as the sole structure;

(iii)  to act as the Area Cluster representative forum for the Bryn y Cwm Area thus reducing any potential for duplication;

(iv)  that an invitation is extended to include a single representative from each of the Town and Community Councils in the proposed pilot area and that each representative will have voting rights during the pilot. Also an open invitation will be extended to other Area Committees during the pilot phase;

(v)    to consider a new name for the Bryn y Cwm Area Committee at the September 2017 meeting;

(vi)  to consider the proposed indicators and accept the request to take part in consultation exercises to measure the success of the pilot.

We received and noted the Bryn y Cwm Area Committee Work Programme.

We resolved that the following items be added to the work programme:

·         To receive an update regarding the new pedestrian bridge over the river Usk at Llanfoist.

·         To receive an update regarding the development of the Town Hall, Abergavenny.

·         To receive an update from Abergavenny Town Team regarding the North Monmouthshire Community Plan.

·         To receive an update regarding Active Travel Routes within the Bryn y Cwm area.

·         To receive an update from Costain, before the end of the year, regarding progress in respect of the Heads of the Valleys Dualling Gilwern to Brynmawr.

·         Remove from the work programme the item relating to the Circuit of Wales.

Wednesday 13^th September 2017 at 2.00pm.

The next meeting Bryn y Cwm Area Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday 13^th September 2017 at 2.00pm. 

The time of the meeting was discussed.  However, due to Abergavenny Town Council holding its meeting that evening, it was agreed that the Area Committee would hold its meeting at 2.00pm, as diarised.